1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device in which a display panel is not broken down or damaged by an external force.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panels (PDPs), and organic light emitting display devices are being widely used as display devices replacing cathode ray tubes which are initial display devices. The display devices include a display panel, which displays an image, and a bezel which covers a border of the display panel. Bezel-zeroised display devices, from which a front case (and/or a front cover) configuring a bezel is removed, are being recently developed.
FIG. 1 is a view for describing a related art display device, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1.
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the related art display device includes a display panel 10, a backlight unit 20, a plurality of fixers 30, a guide panel 40, a rear cover 50, and a side cover 60.
The display panel 10 includes first and second substrates 11 and 13 which are facing-coupled to each other with a liquid crystal layer therebetween. A lower polarizer 15 is adhered to a bottom of the first substrate 11, and an upper polarizer 17 is adhered to a top of the second substrate 13.
The backlight unit 20 irradiates light onto the display panel 10, and includes a light source (not shown), a light guide panel 21 that travels light (which is incident from the light source) to the display panel 10, a reflective sheet 23 that is disposed under the light guide panel 21, and a plurality of optical sheets 25 that are disposed on the light guide panel 21 to enhance a luminance characteristic of the light.
Each of the plurality of fixers is formed to have a cover insertion space. The plurality of fixers are arranged at certain intervals, and adhered to a bottom edge of the display panel 10 to support the display panel 10.
The guide panel 40 is formed in a tetragonal belt shape to have a -shaped cross-sectional surface, and supports the plurality of fixers 30.
The rear cover 50 accommodates the backlight unit 20, and supports the guide panel 40.
The side cover 60 includes a cover sidewall 62, a plurality of fixer fixing parts 64, and a plurality of panel supporting parts 66. Here, the cover sidewall 62 is vertically formed to have a certain height, and covers a side of the guide panel 40. Each of the plurality of fixer fixing parts 64 is bent from a top of the cover sidewall 62 so as to be parallel to a bottom edge of the display panel 10, and is inserted into a cover insertion space of a corresponding fixer 30. Therefore, a movement of each of the plurality of fixers 30 is limited in up, down, left, and right directions. Furthermore, the plurality of panel supporting parts 66 are bent from a top of the cover sidewall 62 so as to be respectively disposed between the plurality of fixer fixing parts 64, and supports a bottom of the display panel to which the plurality of fixers 30 are not adhered.
In the related art display device, since the display panel 10 is fixed by the plurality of fixers 30, a front case (and/or a front cover) configuring a bezel is not needed, and thus, a thickness is reduced, and a bezel width is zeroised. Accordingly, the related art display device has an enhanced aesthetic appearance in design.
However, since the related art display device has structural characteristic in which the front case (and/or the front cover) is removed, when an external force is applied from the outside to the display panel 10, the display panel 10 is damaged or cracked by the external force. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when an external force EF is applied to the display panel 10, the panel supporting part 66 of the side cover 60 is bent by the external force EF applied to the display panel 10, and a step height occurs between the display panel 10 area, which is supported by the bent panel supporting part 66, and the display panel 10 area supported by the fixer 30. For this reason, the display panel 10 is damaged or cracked.